The Beaumont City Council unanimously passed an ordinance establishing child safety zones with a 1,500-foot buffer.
The ordinance would restrict people required to register as sex offenders from living permanently or temporarily within 1,500 feet of places where children gather, including a “school, day-care facility, playground, park, youth center, public swimming pool, video arcade facility or other facility that regularly holds events primarily for children.”
Under the ordinance, distances would be measured in a straight line from the edge of a property line to the edge of the safety zone. A violation would be a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, as set by state law. At-large Council Member Mike Williams said the ordinance would hold people required to register as sex offenders accountable and help protect the community.
“I think you know most people up here have kids, and that’s a vulnerable part of our population,” Williams said. “Children can’t look out for themselves. So it’s our job to look out for them, and that’s kind of what the passing of this ordinance is.”
The ordinance does not list an effective date, but the council packet says the police department would need additional software to enforce it. At a workshop on the ordinance, council members said they wanted it to take effect no later than Jan. 1. The council chose countywide software that costs $34,000. City Attorney Sharae Reed said Jefferson County, Nederland and Groves have expressed interest in signing agreements with Beaumont for joint use of the software. Participating governments would split the cost.
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